


Rainbows and Flames

by mrs260



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cultural discussion, Established Relationship, M/M, Queer Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-15
Updated: 2009-11-15
Packaged: 2017-10-02 20:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs260/pseuds/mrs260
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garak suffers through The Wizard of Oz.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rainbows and Flames

Garak restrained a groan as he entered his quarters -- the sappy  
sentimental strains of some twentieth century song filtered from the  
bedroom. Even worse, Julian seemed to be singing along.

"Sooomewheeeeeeeeeere over the raaainbooooow..."

"My dear, whoever told you you could sing was either tone deaf or  
insane."

"Hush, Garak, I'm trying to watch this!"

"At least _she's_ on pitch. Though she ought to pull herself together  
\-- what's she going on about?"

"She's dreaming about a better life. Hush."

Garak rolled his eyes. "I'll get dinner ready."

Bashir nodded absently, his eyes glued to the black and white images on  
his screen.

A little later he heard Bashir singing along again, but this time he  
was obviously corrupting the words. "Ding dong, the bitch is dead!  
Which old bitch? The wicked bitch!..."

"Really, Doctor! Language!"

"That's what they were singing!"

"They were not! They very distinctly said 'witch', not 'bitch'." He  
poked his head in to confirm that fact by listening to the rest of the  
song.

Bashir looked up and smiled, and patted the bed beside him. "You should  
watch this. It's classic queer culture. And they _did_ say 'bitch'  
during the original filming. They're all little people, you see, and  
little people weren't respected in those days. The studio treated them  
horribly, so in revenge they changed that word when they sang, and it  
wasn't caught until the editing stage. It cost the studio a fortune to  
go back and rerecord." The young human grinned broadly at him, wrapping  
a possessive arm around his waist and leaning into his side. "Mmm, this  
is lovely."

Garak sighed and resigned himself to a late dinner.

The wicked witch was entertaining, but Garak noted that she had every  
right to be angry after her sister had been crushed by a house. "Is   
this the sole basis for labelling her 'wicked'? She is unattractive and  
swears revenge for the death of her sister?"

Bashir sighed. "Garak, please don't think about the plot. If you do,  
neither of us will enjoy it."

When she disappeared in a burst of flames, Bashir noted, rather more  
gleefully than became a physician, "That stunt went wrong and the  
actress was terribly burned -- they had to delay filming for ages."

Garak decided over the course of the film that the wicked witch was the  
only character he liked. She had a delightful sense of humour, while all  
the others seemed dreadfully earnest about the whole ridiculous  
situation. The girl actually reminded him of Bashir in some respects,  
and he took a great deal of pleasure from the expression on Bashir's  
face when he suggested the resemblance.

"I can see why this film is seen as a classic work of homosexual  
culture," he said when it had concluded.

Bashir gaped for a moment. "You can?" he asked faintly. "I thought I'd  
have to explain it... it's more cultural than textual."

"Of course! It was refreshingly subtle, actually. Since homosexuality  
was historically repressed in your culture, any story which involved  
the corruption of innocence could be said to be a metaphor for it."

"I suppose, yes."

"It's only too bad that the witch was not allowed to succeed in her  
seduction of Dorothy."

"Dear Lord, give me strength," Bashir sighed. "That is _not_ an image I  
want in my head!"

Garak chuckled.

"So what's for dinner?"

"As I recall, you like both oysters and snails..."

~~~

END  
Mark


End file.
